Canister Filters

[ALEXF]

I have been thinking about adding one to my tank as there as no such thing as over filtering but i was wondering how exactly they work? Like do they hang on the back like hob's or is there an intake tube i run inthere that goes down to the canister? or do i have to drill holes for like a sump? also i was wondering about the different types of media for the canisters... which is best? do they all do different things? Ima little bit confused. Any help as always is appreciated.

 

[Colin_T]

A standard canister filter is simply a sealed container that sits outside the aquarium. They usually sit below the tank but can also sit next to it as long as they are lower than the water level in the tank. It has two hoses going from it to the tank. One hose drains tank water into the filter and the other hose is used to return the water from the filter to the tank.
Inside the filter there are different compartments for different types of filter material. The water passes through the different filter media and is returned to the tank.

 

[ALEXF]

ok well whats the difference between the different medias? and do you have to change them often?

 

[waterdrop]

Cannister filters generally have a larger media volume than HOB or internal filters (although they can be bought in many sizes.) A larger media volume allows the fishkeeper to go a longer time between filter cleanings as long as something unusual doesn't happen to clog the filter and slow the flow rate.

Cannisters are generally more flexible about taking different kinds of media, allowing you to choose your own as you gain experience or want to experiment. Some HOB filters are really just as flexible though, I believe AquaClear being a type that is. One subtle a cannister can have over a HOB is quietness - the HOB will generally have to make water noises as water falls back into the tank, whereas the spray bar output of a cannister can be adjusted for both surface agitation and quietness. Another positive feature of cannisters frequently are that each media type is often in a little basket, sometimes even with its own handle, which makes it easy to lift over and swish through a bucket of tank water for cleaning.

One of the main advantages of cannisters is simply that by being external, they are less messy to carry to the tub. Modern ones have shut-off valves that keep the siphon water in the hoses and detach those from right at the cannister. You then simply lift the media box/cylinder and carry it to the cleaning sink/tub and lift out the baskets for the tank water rinse. If you refill the box with tank water, often no priming of the siphon will be necessary when you start it back up.

For beginners (like us I would say!) a common favorite would be to start with a coarse sponge right after water input, followed by biomedia like ceramic rings/noodles. The idea of these is that they are hard and force the water in random directions so that tunneling will not occur. Tunneling is when the water finds a path of least resistance and so less filtration occurs. The rough, pitted ceramic of the rings is also a great bacteria home. Next might come ceramic or sintered glass pebbles because they have even higher surface area to harbor more bacteria. Fine sponge can also play this role. Finally, a fine sponge often finishes off the media stack so that any debris that got past the other media might be caught before going back out into the aquarium.

Often the filter maker will sell ideal sponges that fit the filter - these are best to start with to get a feel for how the filter is meant to work. Later you may find you can make changes and still get about the same flow rate as that first baseline you have familiarized yourself with.

Special media variations include polyfloss (great for sparkling up before picture taking, but tends to clog quickly.. well depends on the particular filter!) and carbon of course which I'm sure you've seen covered elsewhere, for med cleanup or tannins or smell - only good for a few days.

OK, hope that helps generate some questions

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ALEXF]

Wow that was everything i could have ever hoped to know and more Thank you. But i do have one question.... you say that carbon is only good for a couple of days??? so what about the filter cartirages that have carbon in them should those be changed monthly or hows that work?

 

[waterdrop]

Carbon is really only useful for clearing up medications after you are through administering them, or clearing up yellow water when your bogwood was perhaps not boiled and bucket rinsed for enough weeks (lol) or when something weird has gone wrong and there is an organic smell you can't seem to get rid of. In those cases you get your carbon (aka activated carbon, aka activated charcoal etc.) off the storage shelf and replace perhaps a portion of your mechanical filtration with the carbon. This is referred to as "chemical" filtration. The carbon is charred wood or nutshells or a few other things and has a huge surface area (a handfull has a surface area like a tennis court.) The surface area reacts and binds organic molecules (it doesn't take things like minerals out.)

You leave it in for 3 days. After that it is saturated and is ready to be disposed of. At one time it was thought that after 3 days the bad stuff would begin to leach back out of the carbon but this has been disproved.

From my reading, modern fishkeepers now mostly only use carbon for special purposes and short time periods like the above. The space that used to be taken up by carbon in a filter is now better used to enlarge the biofilter material and allow for more bacteria. Bacteria will anchor on carbon but it will not retain bacteria as well during washings as ceramics will I believe, since carbon tends to crumble with movement and disturbance.

The reason you see carbon still pictured and sold so much with filters is that it is a big steady money-maker for stores. Its an expensive and largely useless habit when changed out at the recommended rates. The reason is also historical I think in that old habits are very slow to die out in hobbies and in the early years of the hobby it was thought that aged water was a good thing. Water changes were frowned upon and this led to both organic odors and yellow water, both of which benefitted from carbon. In recent decades it has been recognized that water changes are a good thing and aged water is nothing but a problem waiting to happen. (Again, I am spouting generalities especially for us beginners. Very experienced aquarists may have special cases that counter these descriptions but I believe these generalities are basically good for beginners as a solid starting point..)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Mikaila31]

A video Not all the info is correct, mainly you don't need chemical filtration. But it shows you how to set one up.

 

[ALEXF]

ok but i buy those filter cartirages with the carbon for my hob's is that ok to use??? it wont effect anything will it? or should i just be buying filter sponges to cut to fit in the slot?

A video Not all the info is correct, mainly you don't need chemical filtration. But it shows you how to set one up.

thanks but i cant watch videos from work. i have blocks on everything communication wise except this forum oddly.... *crosses fingers* please dont let them find out about it. lol

 

[waterdrop]

yEP! thats the idea, you stop buying the carbon carts and replace with a bio-media like sponge! Now you've got the idea! The carbon won't hurt anything at all, its just that its basically useless as a chemical media after 3 days and expensive to replace and as a biomedia it isn't as good as sponge or ceramics.

 

[ALEXF]

arg !!! those sponges are sooo much cheaper too. if only i would have known before i bought 12 pack of them.... grrr darn consumerism trying to screw the little guy. Thanks Waterdrop.

 

[ClownKnifeMommy]

Wow. and again... wow.

I've been digging all day looking for the right filter for my new 50 g tank. I've ruled out the "under gravel" system that I've recieved parts of with the tank, too dangerous to test on a fish I'm commited to keeping alive.
I have been looking at "Power filters" Also ruling these out due to inefficency.
I've settled on the Eheim 2213 External Canister filter, and been researching how it actually works and how to deal with this compartment and media I've never really understood before. Up til now my smaller tanks have run on carbon filters, cheapie things that require a lot of maintenance and I've never really understood how the carbon works, just that I thought it was a necessity.

This is an incredibly detailed couple of postings, answering just about every question I can think of for how these things work.

Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU! Sadly I've been dumping my money into a Carbon gold mine for 3 years... but feel you've sent me on the straight and narrow.

My one question, this Eheim brand seems to come highly reccommended, and the model I've chosen is part of their "classic" line and is suitible for up to a 66 g tank.

There is obviously a lot of education being set forth on this type of filtration, so what are some opinions on brands? Am I on the right track?

 

[ALEXF]

Wow. and again... wow.

I've been digging all day looking for the right filter for my new 50 g tank. I've ruled out the "under gravel" system that I've recieved parts of with the tank, too dangerous to test on a fish I'm commited to keeping alive.
I have been looking at "Power filters" Also ruling these out due to inefficency.
I've settled on the Eheim 2213 External Canister filter, and been researching how it actually works and how to deal with this compartment and media I've never really understood before. Up til now my smaller tanks have run on carbon filters, cheapie things that require a lot of maintenance and I've never really understood how the carbon works, just that I thought it was a necessity.

This is an incredibly detailed couple of postings, answering just about every question I can think of for how these things work.

Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU! Sadly I've been dumping my money into a Carbon gold mine for 3 years... but feel you've sent me on the straight and narrow.

My one question, this Eheim brand seems to come highly reccommended, and the model I've chosen is part of their "classic" line and is suitible for up to a 66 g tank.

There is obviously a lot of education being set forth on this type of filtration, so what are some opinions on brands? Am I on the right track?

As you will quickly learn this forum is filllllllled with useful information. Most posters are very detailed in their responses and of course all of them are friendly. As far as your question I have heard the Eheim brand comes very highly recommended. I personally use marineland equipment and love it. I read you story and i know you were looking at it for up to 66 tanks but you can never over filter. So you might want to think of going with something even stronger for that just incse type of situation. For my 55 gallon tank i run 2x Marineland Pengiun 350's which are rated for up to 70 gallon tanks and im considering adding a canister as well. There is no such thing as to much filtration. and of course bigger is always better. Just a tip thou... if you have a question it is best to start a new topic because when people have awnsered it as they have most tend not to look back to it to give adivce and might miss your question. You gotta make yourself heard lol. Good luck

 

[waterdrop]

Wow. and again... wow.

I've been digging all day looking for the right filter for my new 50 g tank. I've ruled out the "under gravel" system that I've recieved parts of with the tank, too dangerous to test on a fish I'm commited to keeping alive.
I have been looking at "Power filters" Also ruling these out due to inefficency.
I've settled on the Eheim 2213 External Canister filter, and been researching how it actually works and how to deal with this compartment and media I've never really understood before. Up til now my smaller tanks have run on carbon filters, cheapie things that require a lot of maintenance and I've never really understood how the carbon works, just that I thought it was a necessity.

This is an incredibly detailed couple of postings, answering just about every question I can think of for how these things work.

Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU! Sadly I've been dumping my money into a Carbon gold mine for 3 years... but feel you've sent me on the straight and narrow.

My one question, this Eheim brand seems to come highly reccommended, and the model I've chosen is part of their "classic" line and is suitible for up to a 66 g tank.

There is obviously a lot of education being set forth on this type of filtration, so what are some opinions on brands? Am I on the right track?

Yes, you're on the right track. I use an Eheim Pro-1 model 2222 on my 28G. You might want to take a hard look at the smaller Pro-II models for your larger tank. I recommend against the build-in heater models as they have sensor problems when any salt gets into the water. Instead, look into the Hydor inline heaters, which don't have this problem. I also recommend that wet-dry versions are not needed by most normal aquarists with community tanks. Tetratec also make good cannisters and even Renas and Fluvals can be fine if looked after and maintained well although if you search you will see that filter brands can cause the biggest arguments on TFF!

I like to spill lots of info in a post because it was the kind of detail I once wanted myself, plus it helps me learn - sometimes the experts correct me and other times I just need to repeat things a lot myself!

One other comment I will make re: Alex's comment: I would caution about the statement "there is no such thing as too much filtration" that it really means "filtration" and not other aspects of a filter, like turnover rate or flowrate. Having too high a flowrate can be quite bad for some plants especially. There are various reasons for the rule of thumb of using 5x for your turnover rate (you need to move 5 times your tank volume each hour.) So filter shopping involves turnover rate, media volume, ease of cleaning, ease of priming, reliability, quietness, leak-proofness, parts availability, service, availability of information, robustness of parts, documentation, visual appeal and maybe zen.

Gnight guys! ~~waterdrop~~

Yipes, is it morning in Australia Colin?

 

[ALEXF]

Thank You Waterdrop

 

[LosC519]

Rena XP2 or XP3 are great. They don't require priming and are quieter then most other canister filters.